GrantsListItemDisplay

Title

Reproductive Health Access for Incarcerated Girls

AAP Grant ID

1991

Project Year

2012

City & State

San Jose, CA

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Medical Home

Program Description

Incarcerated youth are among the most disenfranchised youth. Within the juvenile justice system, the needs of the girls are often overlooked. Our local Santa Clara County Supervisors recently identified reducing teen pregnancy and STIs in court-involved girls as a top priority. To better understand the needs of incarcerated girls, interviews have been conducted to understand their attitudes about their health. These interviews revealed that the girls have difficulty accessing the medical system after leaving Juvenile Hall. This project will develop a tool to help the girls establish a reproductive health home after release. To do so, it will be of utmost importance to elucidate their barriers to establishing a reproductive health home and determine solutions to overcome those barriers. We will conduct focus groups or expert interviews with the girls about their barriers to accessing the reproductive healthcare system. Based on these conversations, we will develop a tool that will empower the girls to overcome their barriers. After developing the tool we will take it back to the girls for review to ensure it addresses their barriers in a usable way. At the completion of the project, we will have a tool that can be given to all girls when they leave Juvenile Hall, enabling them to establish and use a reproductive health home. The tool can then be disseminated locally and nationally.

Goals

1. To better understand the barriers to them accessing the reproductive healthcare system after release 2. Increase girls access to the reproductive healthcare system that fits with best practices, is in line with the larger community, and is as generalizable as possible